Pneumatic action for player pianos



J. P. HULDER.

PNEUMATIC ACTION FOR PLAYER PIANOS.

Patented 001:. 24, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I APPLICATION FILED IULY 14.1920.

w m J uvwtoz afose vi F/ /u zder 1. P. HULDER. PNEUMATIC ACTION FOR PLAYER PIANOS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY I4, I920- Patented 24,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. 6

Emmtoz Jase r5 P Hallie? Patented Oct. 24, 1922.

PATENT OFFICE.

.rosnrn r. HULDEB, 01 NEW YORK, N. Y.,

ASSIGNOR TO THE UNIT PLAYER ACTION CO., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PNEUMATIC ACTION FOR PLAYER PIANOS.

Application filed July 14,

To all whom it may concern:

Be'it known that I, JOSEPH P. HULDER, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of New York, county of Bronx, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pneumatic Actions for Player Pianos, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in action chests of pneumatic players for pianos or other musical instruments and particularly to the type of action chest having detachable valve boxes.

A player of the class to which the invention relates has a series of striker pneumatics the operation of which is governed by a perforated note sheet traveling over a tracker bar having openings comunicating with the valves that control the striker pneumatics.

In detachable valve .alctions heretofore devised it has been usual to couple an opening in the tracker bar with a port in the front of the valve box by means of a flexible tube connection. Consequently, when it has been desired to remove the valve box, it has been necessary to disconnect the tube in addition to detaching the box. It will also be apparent that in assembling the action, or in replacing defective valves, considerable care must be used to correctly connect the valve boxes with the proper openings in the tracker bar.

One of the objects of my invention is to overcome this objection by providing an action chest having passages for establishing communication with the tracker bar and whereby the valve boxes can be detached and replaced by merely unfastening or fastening the means which hold the boxes in place.

A further object is to provide a detachable valve hox containin two independent primary valves and communicating with a single exhaust port in the action chest, which port is common to both valves.

Another obiect is to provide means for securing the valve boxes to the action chest, which means serve as guides for locating the valve boxes in their proper places on the 1920. Serial No. 396,119.

' action chest.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating my invention,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view, partly in section, of an action chest and attached valve boxes;

Fig. 2 is an elevation in section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is anelevation in section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

' Fig. 4 is an elevation in section on the line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a front view of the action chest;

Fig. 6 is a rear view of a detached valve box, and l Fig. 7 is a front view of a valve box attached to an action chest.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates an action chest having a series of valve boxes 2 detachably secured to the front wall thereof. A series of striker pneumatics 3, one for each note, are secured to the underside of the chest, with the hinged ends of the pneumatics extending forwardly beyond the front wall of the chest. In practice, as is usual in player-pianos, the action chests will be arranged in tiers within the case. and disposed in front of the abstracts and above the key levers, with the valve boxes facing towards the front of the piano or instrument.

The actionchest has a lengthwise extending chamber 4 from which the air is exhausted in any suitable manner. The chamber is preferably covered with a piece of suitable air-tight material such as is generally used in making the striker pneumatics, which covering is glued over the entire unper surface of the chest. Formed through the solid front wall 6 of the ch st is a serie of angular passages 7, preferablv ar anged in pairs, and providing communication between the valve boxes 2 and the interio s of the pneumatics 3. 8 are a series of hori zontal pasages also formed through the wal 6 and communicating directly with the exhaust chamber d, the passages 8 being preferably located between adjacent pairs of pasages 7, as seen in 5, and being indeiiendent thereof.

Passages 9, which are provided for establisl'iing communication between the. valve boxes and the tracker bar (not shown), are termed clear through the solid lower wall of the chest. The rear ends of the passages 9 are connected by tubes 10 with the open ings in the tracker bar.

The valve boxes 2 are construced with two separate compartments, e I housing a valve 11 for controlling a striker pneumatic 3, The valves 11 are of the primary type well lrnovcn in the art and require no further description, Each box 9 has passages or ports 12, 1 8 and is torn -hatingin the rear wall 15 thereof, and r gistering respectively with the ends of re passages 7, 8, and 9 in the front wall 6 of the chest. The mouth or openingoi theexhaust passage 18 in the valve box is than that of the coiuresponding pass, 8 iirtheact-ion chest, and theends of Sttld; passage .ldterminate in vertical slots 16 which serve to connect the bleeds l7 with the BXAQUSC. ch amher. The rear wall 15 oi, the valve box is preferably linedwith a s i able packing mato all to term an f-i' it :OlnhbfitWQeD the box and the adj acent the action chest. li y referring to the drawings, it E 1 oe seen that each of the exhaust passages or portsS is arranged to serveboth oi} the two valves 11 contained in the valve box 2, the valves communicating with; said port through the port 13 in the valve box, In other words, according to my invention the exhaust nort is common to the tgwo valves contained in the valve box. Thisarrangemer t simplifies the construction otfthe chest and: eliminates the necessity of providing separate exhaust ports -for each valve.

The 1 .5 for locati the valveboxes comprise studs projecting outwardly "from the f ont of the action chest and passi rougi transverse openings 19 in the oral portionof the valve boxes. l ilhen the valve boxes are placed on. thestuds, the ports in said parts will comein proper registration. Nuts 18 screi ving on the outer ends of the studs 20 and against the springs :21 serve to detachably andsecurely hold the valve boxes in proper position,

Various modifications and changes maybe made in the details otthe invention. as herein described, without departing from the S06? e of my invention as defined in the claims.

l Vhat lt'claim is: v v

1, ln a pneumatic playermechauism, an action chest, striker pneumatic supported on the underside ot the chest, valve-boxes supported on. the front ot the chest, each conto both valves each v passages in. its front wall eacn connectmga taining two independent pneumatic valves, said action chest having an interior exhaust chamber, passages through the front wall each forming a common passageway from the exhaust chamber to both valves of each valve-box, separate passages in the front wall each connecting a valve with a oorrespending striker pneumatic, and separate passages extending transversely through the bottom each connecting a valve with a tube leading to the tracker bar.

2. In a pneumatic player mechanism, an action chest having an exhaust chamber, and a valve box detachably secured to the chest, said valve box containing two independent valves both of which communicatewith, the exhaust chamber through a single common passage,

3. In a pneumati player mechanism, an

action chest, striker pneumatics; secured to,

the ,unc ersideot the chest andproj ecting b L yond its front wall, valve-boxes detachahly secured to the front wall, each containing two independent pneuroatie valves, said action chest havingan interior exhaust, chamber and an air-tight fabric cover, passages througlrits front wall eachforming a common passageway from the exhaust chambe a ve-box, separate of the exhaustpassage openinginthe face of the box termin lin in slots ,c onnectedwith bleedductsin s box.

5. ln 'apneumatic player mechanism an actionTchest having an exhaust chamber, a. seriesot stri' r pn matics secured thereto, a series of valve boxes, eachcontainingtwo independent. primary valves bothof, which communicate with, tl e, exhaust chamber through acommon passage, and means for detachably securing thevalve boxesto the action chest.

6; In, a pneumatic player mechanism an actioi rdiest, a series of strikerpneumatics secured thereto, a valve box containing two indepen dent primary valves, I and means, for detachably securing the valve box. to, the chestico mprising a stud projecting outwardly trom the chestandpassi a through atransverse opening in the central portionotthe valve box, anut onlthe outer endrof, the stud and a spring betweenthewnut and the valve ,box.

7. In a pneumatic player mechanism, an

action chest having an interior exhaust chamber, a series of striker pneumatics secured to the underside of the chest, a series of valve boxes each containing tWo independent primary valves detachably secured to the front- Wall of the chest, a series of independent passages in the front Wall of the chest leading from the valve boxes to the exhaust chamber and the pneumatics respectively, and a series of passages in the 10 lower Wall of the chest each leading from a valve box to a tracker bar connection.

JOSEPH P. HULDER. 

